The
Steam Users Forums (thanks
Shacknews) announces
that Valve called shenanigans on approximately 20,000
Steam user accounts yesterday, and
has disabled access to them. Word is: "The method used was extremely easy for
Valve to trace and confirm, and so there is no question that the accounts
disabled were used to try and illegally obtain Half-Life 2." The post goes on to
describe the circumstances under which Steam accounts will be revoked, as well
as avenues to follow should you feel your account was banned erroneously. They
also go on to debunk what has become the popular myth that they released a bug
to the warez circuit to entrap pirates:

Valve did not put out any kind of
fake key or fake warez or hack instructions to trap people. The hack came from
the "community" as do they all.

Because those game files still get stored onto some type of media such a hard drive, CD-R, DVD-R which is sold in physical packaging and physically shipped. It makes no difference as far as waste is concerned whether a consumer buys a blank CD-R at retail to store his downloaded game or if he instead buys the game at retail on factory shipped media.

Well, most folks already have a HD installed, so that means less packaging/shipping if they don't back up the files.

Shipping 100 DVDs on a spindle (and 100 paper wrappers in a small box if you get fancy) is equivalent to shipping 100 retail boxes? Not quite. Not by a long shot. Printing costs, paper/box costs, shrinkwrap costs, storage costs, it all adds up.

************** Warhawk **************Please! This is supposed to be a happy occasion. Let's not bicker and argue about who killed who.

Have I lied to you? I mean, in this room? Trust me, leave that thing alone. - GLaDOS

Have you considered how much WASTE and POLUTION is eliminated by digital distribution?

Actually, none. Why? Because those game files still get stored onto some type of media such a hard drive, CD-R, DVD-R which is sold in physical packaging and physically shipped. It makes no difference as far as waste is concerned whether a consumer buys a blank CD-R at retail to store his downloaded game or if he instead buys the game at retail on factory shipped media. Valve is simply passing the cost of packaging onto the consumer.

I knoticed that irony too. In the game your rebeling against some controling entity. Yet you feel like you want to fight against the controling game company who made the game. If the game wasn't so good it couldn't work. Your arm is getting twisted but you gota have your fix anyway. What will they do without multiplayer to make this game live for another 6 years though? Steam might be a moot point in 6 months. Thinking about waiting 6 years or more for the next... Forget about it.

Attempted to download the Game via Steam, servers were too busy. Thought "ok, I'll buy the box". Then warez came out with no Steam required at all, and my News servers weren't too busy. Decided this was a better option !

So they cought 20k people. Who cares when they lost more than that in sales. I personally know several people who could not buy this game, and several others who won't buy it. So in essense, that is 40k+ people (actual number probably higher) that either can't play the game, are angry at Valve, or both. Piracy sucks, but taking measures like cutting off your right arm may not be the right solution, and will only hurt sales of future games.

It seems the same question keep coming up on the steam forums and they never really get answered.

Yes that is pathetic the constant deletion and banning of legitimate posts. I understand (and support) banning of OMFG St34m sux0rs posts because it doesn't get anywhere. But those are questions that are legitimate. The non-offline offline mode is a joke. While I am prepared to tolerate Steam, it BADLY needs improvements. The most obvious one - why the hell doesn't it auto-exit after I quit HL2?

A platform update is available and will be applied automatically when Steam is restarted. The change includes:* No longer require "remember password" to be checked to play offline

Why does steam sometimes fail to connect/login and why does this stop me playing the game I paid for?Because are servers screw up sometimes, so tough, it's not your game it's ours and we make the rules.

Steam banned me...You, or someone on your computer, or someone who got lucky with a key generater - used a stolen key or your copy of steam

hipcupped at the wrong moment. Possible you passed wind during the signin and steam took it personally. Solution:Join the queue, take a support ticket and please be patient, 20,000 people ahead of you in the queue.

Why wasn't my DVD case clearly marked with "Steam account & Internet Access required to play this Single Player Game" ?Because you properly wouldn't have bought it, and if you only have dialup or no access then you surely wouldn't have bought it.

How can I sell my copy of HL2Sorry, steam is for life, not just Christmas.

Is the EULA Legal?It's in writing and if you installed steam you agreed to it. By the way did you notice the small print, it says we also now own your soul.

Is steam REALLY needed to play HL2Yes, it's built right into the core of the game and it can't possible be removed.If you don't believe me, see the question below.

Why did it take 6 years to write HL2Because we had to keep signing into steam and waiting for it load before we could test anything!!

It seems the same question keep coming up on the steam forums and they never really get answered. Plus the search features is

disabled most of the time ( because too many people asking the same questions ). A sensible answer would be to post an FAQ at the top of the forum?I posted this FAQ in the hopes to inspire some common sense. to get some real answers posted in a official FAQ. Needless to say

that didn't happen and the thread was closed.

I guess truthful answers would hurt more than help valve.This comment was edited on Nov 26, 08:41.

Ok I buy the game. Theres like 5 disks. So I sit in a chair for like 40 miniutes while it installs. Changing disks when it asks etc. So cool I'm done I thought. So I start Half life and Steam comes up. So I have to register the game online before I can even look in the game I paid almost $60 bucks for. Then theres these extra numbers on the registration which I have a hard time with cause I think I'm suposed to include them. Finally I'm registered. Then Steam has to decrypt the game I just installed. This takes like another 20 or 30 miniutes. At least it seemed like that long. So finally I can start playing. It says wrond disk. What?!?!?! After all that I still need the fricken disk!!! Why!?!?!? So every time I play the game they know? Talk about conrol FFFRREEAKS! The game is very good though. It's like this is the future with computers. Everyone is going to want to control you in order to use thier product. Just imagine every piece of software you install doing this. Every one loading up in the task bar. Taking up rsources and watching you every move. This is a fricken game for christs sakes.

When it comes to music, people should only listen to whatever comes in over their fillings.

Did you know that when you die and go to Heaven, that's all they judge you on up there.

Like "Yo! Dude, what did you listen to to earn those scrawny wings."

And yada, yada, yada. For all eternity.

In this respect, Hell is so much better. For one thing, everyone who ends up there pretty much expected to end up there anyway. And the admins pretty much expect everyone there belongs there too.

In Heaven the admins are always second guessing their decison to let someone in. If they find out your favorite song for a while was What's Going On? or Little Miss Can't Wrong and splish splash, you're taking a Hell bath no matter how your taste may have matured later on.

They consider it a EULA violation of the brain you were given, pretty much for free.

Last time I checked Hydrahead's new releases - none of their bands had much to say in regard to politics. Because they're a trend. Hardcore has been so trendy for years, I got out of it when it started getting cheesy like that. But that doesn't matter considering a lot of hardcore has always been consistent in politics whether it was right or left.

But for me, I have to go old school and this is where I have to say (satirically): go listen to some real hardcore when politics mattered: go listen to some His Hero is Gone or some Econochrist, or some Born Against or some Man is the Bastard... or... or... or... or... haha. But that would be playing into the whole left, right & right & wrong type of thing I despise.

I don't see what people are so bent out of shape about. The delivery system and verification was well known before the game sold and if you didn't know you were an uninformed consumer and got what you deserved. If you weren't sure, you should have waited. It's called being a responsible consumer. I know that comes as a shock to people who think they are entitled to everything, but get over it.